20 w i n t e r C i i i

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THE CHURCHES AND SYNAGOGUES

OF GARY C U N N I N G H A M

11 Y B A R B A R A K O E R B L E

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Fronl lotode, Gslenian Abbey Church, Dollov Cunningham Archiletli, 1992.

C I T I n t 21

At nine o'clock on a warm August

morning. a small group " I visitors

from Austin's Texas l ine Arts

Association gathers in front of the Cister-

! urn \bbc\ ( Imrch in |i i in - , k-xas. I |K.,

are there to admire the work of Gary

Cunningham, a Dnilas architect who in

recent years has become known as one

ol the stall's linest designers ol religions

structures. And the Cistercian Church,

imposing and starkly impressive, is one

of his best designs. The church's 40-foot

liigli stone facade is composed of stacked

rectangular limestone blocks, each a

weighty 5,000 pounds. On this morning,

the massive stone wall is bathed in a sun-

light so strong that one can see delicate

vcining in each block; some are stained

with sunn streaks, the scars of the dri l l

that split the rock face ring the top of

each stone like a crown of thorns.

As the visitors look on. Cunningham

tells how each huge stone was hewn. It's

been many years since the work was com

plctcd, but his description makes it sound

as it it happened yesterday. It's not just

that he's told the story main times; it's

also that he spent hours walking the

quarry site near Midland, watching tIk-

cutting ol the sltnies lli.it would be

reassembled in a simple nave form dating

back centuries.

Such attention to materials and

process is a Cunningham characteristic, as

is his appreciation of religious tradition.

He obviously relishes making historical

connections, yet he also employs modern

structural details.1 The combination is just

one of the things that has helped distin-

guish his church designs Irom those of his

pu is . Although he chafes at the con-

straints ot stylistic labels, Cunningham

might he described as an unorthodox

modernist. Aesthetically, he lavors volu-

metric forms ami the honest expression of

structure and materials. I lowever, he also

frequently pushes the limits when it comes

to manipulating materials. He can enthu-

siastically enrich a plain concrete wall

with willow branches, cast a bronze bell

in the dirt, or crawl to the top of a church

in the middle of the night to install a

handmade cross. As Richard Ferrier, asso-

ciate professor in the University ot I'cxas

Arlington's School of Architecture, notes,

"What people recall about his works is

his unique and very profound w.u ol

using materials. Me gets out there and

gets dirty. 1 le wants to understand the

process ol building."

Cunningham first gained notice not

for his churches, but for an office build-

ing. 1 le established hts Dallas-based firm

in [ 9 8 l , n m l by 1983 his first office

building commission— benchmark in

I.ongview — had won a lex,is Society ol

Architects Design Award. In 1986, Sharon

Odum, who has been a stabilizing influ-

ence in the l inu as it has grown to around

ten employees, joined as a design princi-

pal. Cunningham Architects garnered

more accolades in IVNN with a Dallas

AIA Design Award for the Sesler residence

in Dallas.- This was followed by an

unusual house remodeling commission

from Morton I I . Meyerson, the namesake

of Dallas' symphony center. Meyerson's

home, originally a 192.) electric substa-

tion, was converted by Cunningham with

an exhuberance bordering on the manic.

Dubbed the "Power I louse," it provided

ample opportunity for Cunningham's wit

in the development of its electrical the-

matic subtext.

G l l A t I I H I III KAN C H U B ! II

During this period ( unningham was

engaged to design his first church, Grace

Lutheran in the Dallas suburb of Carroll-

ton. Carrollron is filled with large brick

homes squeezed on liny lots; the domi-

nant visual impression is then massive.-,

shingled root peaks projecting above

brick privacy walls, I'.vcn the mailboxes

are encased in brick. Within this bland

setting was a barren roll ing hill where

Cunningham sited the church.

The design is spartan in us simplicity:

the primary worship space is a square

room topped with a wood-framed pyra-

midal rool bolted to exposed steel sup-

ports. Cunningham carefully differentiat-

ed spaces with materials. The 6,500-

square toot worship hall is built ot con-

crete block with a copper clad roof. A

brick classroom wing on the western side

frames the sanctu.ii> entrance, while sup-

port spaces on the north side were ecu -

ered in clapboard siding. In Cunningham's

master plan, the square sanctuary was to

become a multi-purpose room, and a larg-

er sanctuary and school eventually would

be built within an axial plan. The high

pitched roof ol the worship hall projects

above the I.-shaped wings and calls atten-

tion to the significance of the sacred

space. In Future phases of development,

Cunningham planned to continue the

expression ot Significant spaces through

their height, volumetric form, and use ot

singular materials.;

Ibis first religious commission was a

groundbreaking experience for the f irm.

With Grace Lutheran, Cunningham chose

to bring the entire small congregation into

the design process, Most ot tin- congrega-

tion stayed after church each Sunday

while ("unningham showed them images

ami discussed ideas. Rather than just

working with a building committee, Cun-

ningham was working with a community.

Kver since Grace Lutheran, the firm's

practice has been to bring clients as fully

into the process as possible.

Though additions by others have tem-

pered Cunningham's vision for Grace

Lutheran in the ten years since it was

built, us core design remains clear. The

church's current pastor, Justin Kvanli, per-

sonally likes the spartan aesthetic. "The

high ceiling is beautiful," he notes, "Ir

brings to mind the loftiness of God. "

C I S T E R C I A N A B I I E Y C H U R C H

For ('unningham, the inception of work

on the Cistercian Abbey Church in 1990

must have seemed like coming home. He

had attended the t istercian Abbey's

Preparatory School for boys from third

grade through high school, from which he

was graduated in I 972. As a result, he

was well-versed in the history of the abbey j

and the lifestyle of the Cistercian monks.

Our Lady of Dallas Abbey was estab-

lished in 1957 by a group of monks from

/arc. Hungary, who in the 1940s had fled

persecution by the Communists, To inves-

tigate historic precedents for the abbey,

Cunningham visited monasteries in Italy,

Hungary, and Austria, spending nights in

small, austere cell rooms. From his travels.

Cunningham gleaned as much as he could

about these simple load bearing structures.

(A specific 13th-century Cistercian church »

in Hel.ipatlalva, i lungary, served as a

model for the alternation of light and dark |

stones in the church's facade,I They also

Ud in Cunningham's resolve ro make his

own design "very humble, very plain."

The Cistercian Abbey Church is sited

to complete the north end of a monk's

cloister, a modern 1962 international style

structure by Dallas architects Adams and

Adams. Visitors attending services ascend

stairs from a parking area at the foot of

the propett] to the summit of the hil l . The

sleep ascent through a wooded grove pro-

vides an implicit processional, and a tran-

sition for the visitor from the nearby

I lighway 114 interchange.

I lie church's saiu luai > is om- ot ( mi

ningham's most stunning interiors, Within

the nave, square, cast-in-place concrete

columns support the load-bearing stone

walls. The play of light enhances the

rough beauty ol the split-faced stone. 11 hi

mination enters the church from vertical

Architect Gary Cunningham in from of the Cistercian Abbey Church.

, I

Interior, (isicrcion Abbey Church. Light enters Ihe sanctuary

through vertical windows ond skylights.

Side ond front tirade, Cistercian Abbey Church. A 13th-century

church in Hungary provided a model lor Cunningham's use of

lighl and dark stones.

22 n i i f <* <) g I T E

The Epslein Chopel ol Temple Shalom, Dallas, Cunningham Architects, 1991.

m r

i A rendering ol I he plan) lor Prince ol Peace Catholic Communily, Plono, shows the eilent ol the commit lion, which included o mom

worship spate, two small rhopelt, ollices, a library, and o school.

windows above the altar and the entrance

and clerestory openings inserted in the

upper courses of the side walls. Skylights

till a continuous void along the top of the

side walls, where the roof nearly inter-

sects but does not touch the walls. Rak-

ing light enters though the skylights to

wash the side walls.

The windows and skylights are filled

with thick cast-glass tiles containing pits

and bubbles that underscore their hand-

made qualifies. In a similar gesture, the

interior walls of the side aisles are cov-

ered with hand-troweled gray gypsum

plaster enhanced by the streaking of

added pigments. It's important to the

Catholic liturgy, Cunningham notes, that

materials in the church be handmade

whenever possible.

I lie Forces inherent in the structural

system that supports (he church's roof

exhibit a sublime drama. While it may

appear that divine intervention is holding

up the roof, in fact it is high-tech engi-

neering. The budget Has insufficient for a

stone vault, and Cunningham didn't want

ro use trusses, nor did lie want the

church's wooden roof ro touch the side

walls. As Cunningham explains, to deal

with roof forces that could push the sub-

walls over, steel knife plates were inserted

between joints in the top course ot stones

Grace Lulheron, (cuiollton, 1986, wos Gary Cunningha

religious commission.

to transfer the load. Tie rods prevent the

stones from flipping up. The root is fur-

ther anchored by half inch stainless steel

cables, Sikh high rech flourishes, which

were developed through consultation with

structural engineer Jim Smith, are a trade-

mark of Cunningham's f irm. Conversely,

the team members, with the assistance of

Dallas sculptor David Synes, also engaged

n low-tech fabrication ol bronze chapel

objects such as the cross and the bells.

The downlights are simple welded cylin-

ers, and the round knobs serving as

handgrips at the entrance to the choir

from the vestry were cast from potatoes.

The monks indicated their satisfaction

with (. uimingliam's work by commission-

ing him to design a new librarv ,\\\A class

room for the da\ school, which was dedi-

cated in March 1998.

TEMPLE SHALOM

When Rabbi Kenneth Kosem.ui and his

building committee for Dallas' Temple

Shalom began their search for an architec-

tural firm to design .1 small chapel, their

primary goal was to find one that would

not bring preconceived ideas to the pro-

ject. "We walked in there with zero

knowledge ... and we got the job because

we said they would have to teach us

about all this," says Cunningham. "It was

realty a very sincere exchange oi culture."

The committee wanted a chapel to com-

plement their main sanctuary, which seats

482 in theater style seating. The large

worship space worked well for events

such as f ligh Holy Days, but an intimate

space was needed lor smaller gatherings.

1 )i iginally, 11 w ,1 v assumed thai the

chapel would be attached to the main

worship space, but after some discussion

Cunningham persuaded his client to set

the chapel apart and create a courtyard

space between the two buildings, flu-

chapel was developed as a circle bisected

In .1 glass wall. Through that wall the

courtyard can he seen, which serves to

bring nature into the worship. A white

partition wall provides a backdrop tor the

essential components ol the services: the

bimah, a raised platform from which the

Torah is read, the Ark containing the

Torah, the Eternal 1 iglit, and the leading

tabic-. The semi-circular space designed

for the chapel served the committee's

charge to bring congregants close to the

bimah and the Ark. And with the use- ot

pew seating rather than auditorium seat-

1111;. tin- result was a very intimate chapel

thai seats 175,

A 100-foot passage connects the

vestibule ot the main sanctuary to the

new chapel. Upon entering the hallway,

an angled window on the left side directs

one's gaze across the courtyard to the

chapel itself; through a slotted opening,

the I lernal I ighl can be glimpsed. The

corridor is designed -is a progression

through lime- and space. A series ol verti

cal windows allow views ol the courtyard

to (he left; the corridor leads toward a

glass wall at the end. Cunningham incor-

porated into the left wall rectangular

pieces ol colored cast glass that gradually

change in hue from clear blue to dark

sapphire, deepening the corridor's mood

enhancing aspects. At the glass wal l , one

takes a sharp turn to the left, then atter a

short passage, another sharp turn into the

chapel itself. Upon entering the chapel,

one follows a corridor along .1 curving

wall. Vertical windows in this wall arc

filled with green cast glass tiles that give

this portion ol the interior ,111 almost

aqueous Feeling.

For all of its subtle qualities, the

l.psrein Chapel, named for the family thai

funded it, also displays Cunningham's

structural skills. The roof of the chapel is

supported by wooden glut-lam beams that

radiate from the load-hearing outer walls

and converge at the center ol the half cir-

cle. They are supported by a steel beam

formed in a half circle; the ends of this

canlilevered beam rest on two concrete

columns, and are connected with one

inch steel rods to piers sunk 20 feet

into the ground.

Countering this high-tech detailing is

the chapel's emphasis on nature and com-

munity. The courtyard is planted with

parallel rows ot yaupon holly trees that

echo the rows of pews within the chapel.

The courtyard's lush foliage provides

a balance to the cool tonalities of the

chapel interior.

PRINCE OH PEACE

flush with the success of the Cistercian

Abbey Church and Temple Shalom's

Epstein Chapel, in 1992 Cunningham and

Sharon Odinn ventured into what seemed

like familiar territory, accepting .1 lust

phase design commission for the Prince of

Peace Catholic Community in the north

Dallas suburb ol Piano, I he commission

included a large worship space to seat

1,000, two smaller chapels, offices, 1

library, and a first phase ol a school. It

was their largest religious commission

to dare.

Tor Cunningham and Odum, Prime

of Peace proved to be both their most

('•"'ill i n I e J i

/..'

multi-layered and complicated project.

"Prince of Peace |involved a| school and a

suburb and a set nl raw land — a very,

very rich set of parameters," Cunningham

s.i\s. " I mean, n was all a blank canvas

and starting from scratch." He and Odum

took Vatican II, which in Il>fi2 had called

for liturgical reforms within the Catholic

Church, as their bible, but their clients

appear to have been divided about some

ot these tenets being applied 10 the new

buildings. Father James lialini and others

on the building committee dedicated to

Vatican II reforms requested that the

architects follow the guidelines contained

in I nnniimiciit ami Art m {'.atbolk Wtir-

sl.'iji. According to this document, "A

good architect will possess both the will

ingness to learn trom the congregation

and sufficient integrity not to allow the

community's design taste or preference to

limit the freedom necessary for a creative

design. The architect wil l look to the

congregation and clergy for an under-

standing of the character and purpose of

the lirurgic.il assembly. With tli.it rapport,

it is the architect's task to design the

space, using contemporary materials and

modes ot construction, in dialogue with

consultants who are expert in the areas ot

liturgical art, rites, acoustics, and other

specialized issues."J

With that in mind, [.vie Novuiski ot

tin- University of Dallas was lured as ,1

liturgical consultant, and with his assis-

tance symbolic design elements were

developed. The most obvious example

can be seen in the use of water as

metaphor, beginning with the baptismal

font, which is the first feature encoun-

tered when entering the church. Dallas

sculptor brad Goldberg was selected to

carve the font out ol stone, and as Cun-

ningham explains, "water bet.une the

organizing element of the whole project."

It is typical of Cunningham's

.ippn>.ii.h hi make a thorough inventory

of the site, and when he did so he discov-

ered that a creek had once existed on the

property. So he designed a very organic,

curvilinear concrete drainage channel

in mllecr water runoff. Drawing an

analogy to the "different species in

nature" that once came to the creek to

drink. Cunningham says he based his

design concept on the idea that the

water that originated from the baptismal

font fed and nourished all who came

to know God,

Cunningham proposed that cars nor

he parked close to the church, but that

congregants walk along an outdoor path

way that he termed the "Processional

Way." This would give people a short

time to prepare for worship, l o r Cun-

ningham, this was a natural development

of the processionals in both the Cistercian

Abbey and Temple Shalom. All of the sig-

mlu .1111 buddings 111 the Pi ince ol Peace

project, including the library, faced onto

the Processional Way. In Cunningham's

master plan tor phase two, a cafeteria was

planned lor the area south of the church.

The intent was to complete a courtyard

enclosure in front of the church. Much of

this design work was related to Cunning-

ham's desire to create an "internal vil-

lage" for the congregation, which had

previous!) met in movie theaters and

school buildings, later, after Cunning-

ham's involvement with the project ended,

this area became a parking lot.

The church building itsell is a dramat-

ic structure. Irs conical shaped roof is sup-

ported by interior tree-like steel columns.

Cunningham liked this geometric form,

commenting that the "volume has a level

of importance and heroism." An advan-

tage ot a circular church with a round

plan was the development of seating

that brought congregants as close to the

altar as possible.

Some of the problems Cunningham

ami Odum encountered were caused In

the budget of $110 per square tool lor the

church and $55 per square foot for the

school. (The budget for the Cistercian

Abbe) Church was S200 per square foot.)

To save money, the pair spent hours fabri-

cating many of Prince of Peace's hand-

made objects, such as the light fixtures.

Odum observes, "It's a way for us to get

richness in projects that the client couldn't

afford." Also because of the tight budget,

it was decided to use tilt-up concrete con-

struction for the school building.

Cunningham. Odum, and their clients

participated in texturing the tilt-up panels

for the school building with rock salt and

wil low branches. The branches came from

trees on the sire, and were dragged

through the wet concrete. Delicate

impressions ot leaves are also imprinted

on many of the panels. Despite this, the

view of a concrete wall from a nearby-

park way, and the rough and ready char-

acter of the school, caused controversy.

As a result, when time came for phase

two of the Prince of Peace project to

begin, Cunningham Architects was

passed over in favor of ('organ

Associates of Dallas.

Cunningham has little to say about

the Corgan addition, but it's obvious that

he thinks it disrupted the conceptual plan-

ning underpinning his phase one. With its

liberal use of brick veneer

and appropriated forms, Cor-

gan's second phase not only

blurs Cunningham's distinc-

tion between sacred and secu-

lar spaces, but also encases

much of Cunningham's

school building, concealing

scune ot the tilt-up panels.

Since Prince of Peace,

Cunningham Architects have

Completed two smaller reli

gious commissions, one a ren-

ovation/expansion project for

Samt Peter's Episcopal

Church in McKinney and the

oilier a renovation of the Ara-

paho United Methodist

Church. In these, as in his

earlier designs, Cunningham's

reductive aesthetic has been a

blessing. The firm's dedica-

tion to honest expression ol

Function and use of materials

also makes it sympathetic to

religious structures. Cunning-

ham's idealism seems In have

served him best when work-

ing with clients steeped in tra-

dit ion, such as the monks of

the Cistercian order and the

Temple Shalom building com-

mittee. I le's found newer con-

gregations such as Prince of

Peace more challenging, as

there ma)- be no consensus

among the congregants about

the nature of the church.1

Still, Cunningham's nest

religious commission, a mas-

ter plan tor the Taith Episcopal Church in

Allen, Texas, sounds like a good lit. The

congregation uses a rock band and video

projectors in their services. He's very

taken with the site: "It's a beautiful site in

a grove of hackhcrry trees ... .1 Hood-

plain, with bits of prairie." It's not sur-

prising that Cunningham would get excit-

ed about something as mundane as hack-

berry trees. "They're not fancy trees in

themselves," he says, "but they have a lot

of strength."

In other words, taith grows where

it's planted. •

I. In hrr (M(!c St . s tun lur tin- IKIIL.< Mtirnmg

\,'ir< im M.iisl i h ' , l 1 ! 1 '^ , repcirter Ahsuii H.mil l ion

nuted thai .111 interesting complement to Cunning' ham's sometimes irreverent modernity is Ins utter respect tor listening i<> "wh.it the rules are" when 11 comes n> the requirements <<i church liturgy;

1. Cunninghams n-li^miis architecture has also won .1 number ol awards, among them rite l1'1*!* L)al-Itu AIA Design Award foi dr.ice1 urhcran; the 1992 IL-S.IS Society nl Architects IH-MHH Award .md the

1993 Dallas AIA Design Aw.ml (ot t istcreun Abbey Church; tin- 1992 |).,II,,S AIA Design Award tor Tern-

IIIHI...-..NI1I

Prince ot Peace Catholic Community, Plono, 1994. Tog: Contiele pontls for Prime ol

Peace's school building were textured wilh rock salt and willow branches. Bottom:

Prime ot Peace's conical rool it supported by Iree-like steel columns on the interior.

I<lt- sh.il.im; and die 1995 Dallas AIA Design Award tut Prince of Peace, Phase I.

I. Unfortunately, thnse plans were never complei tcl. today, the purity ni tin- church^ form is somew hat marred In exposed air conditioning units and accre-tions luch -is mewl service hinldmcs, ( immiiglumS original conception has also been altered by i brick wi l l ih.it was layered over tin- clapboard sidmu, on thi-north side,

4. Biwtroiwtertt and Art InCatholit Wonbip iW.ishmni.iii: liimi-J Stares Catholic Conference, 19771, p. n.

«. Some- o l the ditl icnllics stemmed trom the- List

that Cuninii.rji.im .nul (Mum wen- tint the lust choice ni the churcn's buildingcommittee, which spent ,t year working on .i design with Phillips 5wagec Associates nl I).ill.is. whu hrnunlit in Chicago architect I"m Wcese .is design consultant, I Inn I'lnlhps Swage Associates was fired, and Cunningham Architects hired. Odum feels that the committee maj have been burned out by this point, .end thai this may have exac erbatcd Liter problems. In hindsight, Odum wishes

ill.u she and t unninnli.ll" had requested .i new hiiihl nit: committee. For a detailed examination "t the con-trOYCrsv see "1 mi l l ls.lllll.1lls In (tiki 's th i i ise" by

MarL llmnch, DaHas Otarmw, October 26, I "41.